


Yamaguchi Tadashi: Overflow

by Remembrance



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Canon Compliant, Cute, Difficulties, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, M/M, Middle Blocker Zine, Warm and Fuzzy Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-23
Updated: 2018-06-23
Packaged: 2019-05-27 11:35:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15023696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Remembrance/pseuds/Remembrance
Summary: Yamaguchi stiffened. His eyes drifted away. “Hinata… do you ever feel… like, not.” His grip on his chopsticks tightened. “Good?”Hinata tilted his head. “Not good?”“Ah, never mind—forget I said anything! I just meant—”“Not good,” Hinata repeated. “What do you mean by not good?”





	Yamaguchi Tadashi: Overflow

 Yamaguchi swore he heard the caw of a crow as Hinata paused on the court, his shoes squeaking on the shiny wooden floors—only for a second—before he leapt up. Hinata released a yell as he spiked, the strike echoing as it scored the final point.   
   
 Yamaguchi blinked.   
   
 Before Yamaguchi could even react, everyone cheered. Hinata was midair, doing a double high-five with Sugawara. On the other side of the net, though, Kageyama’s and Tsukishima’s glares were ice cold.   
   
 Yamaguchi stiffened.   
   
 “Wow,” Asahi said despite his heavy breathing. “Hinata’s quick with Suga is getting faster…”   
   
 “Still not as fast as he is with Kageyama,” Ennoshita added. “But. It’s another weapon he’s sharpening.”   
   
 Yamaguchi’s shoulders locked and he forced himself to breathe. He turned away from the court and headed towards the bench. He grabbed his towel, wiping away sweat. He wasn’t aware of someone approaching him until a water bottle was thrust at him. He blinked.   
   
 “You won.” Yachi’s gaze was soft. “S-So… why do you look so d-down?”   
   
 “A-Ah.” Yamaguchi straightened his spine. “I’m just tired—it was a rough practice match!” He forced a smile and a laugh. He took the water bottle. “Thank you.”   
   
 “Hwah!” Hinata popped out behind her. “You’re always so polite, Yamaguchi!”   
   
 “N-Not, really…?”   
   
 “Well you’re better than Kageyama!”   
   
 “A-Ah, well.” Yamaguchi held back the urge to laugh. “That’s, uh…”   
   
 Tsukishima scoffed as he walked past them. “That’s barely a challenge.”   
   
 “Yeah.” Yamaguchi snickered. “That.”   
   
 Hinata laughed, loud, and then smiled up at Yamaguchi. It was direct sunlight, and Yamaguchi swore it was making his face get all red.   
   
   
   
 * * *   
   
   
   
 Yamaguchi remembers a time, third year in middle school, when volleyball felt like there was no limit. He felt like a pot, boiling over, and he was finally getting good—finally a regular.   
   
 Karasuno broke from practice early, and the sun was still out.   
   
 Yamaguchi kept his head down as he walked home. He and Tsukki had gone separate ways a while ago, and he was debating what to do. He had originally planned to head to Shimada Mart, for his usual serving practice, but Shimada had cancelled in the morning. Yamaguchi had gotten a second text from Shimada Around lunch, though, saying he was free in the evening again – but Yamaguchi declined.   
   
 He said he had plans.   
   
 He didn’t have plans.   
   
 Yamaguchi wasn’t one to lie, but…   
   
 He walked down a set of stairs, but paused. He decided to take a seat where he was, hugging his knees, sitting on the steps, looking out to the horizon. He took a soft breath and looked up—   
   
 —to see someone towering above him.   
   
 “Yamaguchi!”   
   
 “Wah!” Yamaguchi flailed, barely catching onto the railing to stop himself from tumbling down the stairs.   
   
 “What is it?” Hinata blinked. “Do I have something on my face?”   
   
 “N-No!” Yamaguchi stood up, heart racing. “H-Hinata, what are you doing here?”   
   
 “I saw you!” Hinata grinned and bounced on his feet. “I wasn’t totally sure if it was you since you were so far away at first, you looked really small—but I know you’re tall—but I was  _pretty_  sure it was you! Do you know this area? I don’t! I’m hungry, though. Do you want to eat lunch?”   
   
 “L-Lunch?” Yamaguchi only stared at Hinata for a while before he let out a soft sigh. His shoulders relaxed and he couldn’t help but smile. “It’s almost dinner time… but… yeah, I know a place we can get food, if that’s what you want.”   
   
 “Yes!” Hinata brought his fists up then pumped then down, grinning. “You’re the best Yamaguchi!”   
   
 “A-Ah, I didn’t even do anyth—”   
   
 “Thank you for having me!”   
   
 “Wait I’m not—”   
   
 “Thank you for having me!”   
   
   
   
 * * *   
   
   
   
 Only a short while later, Yamaguchi was sitting at a small table for four in a small restaurant. He put his backpack on the seat next to him and he glanced at Hinata, who sat across him. Yamaguchi had never really brought anyone here before, but he wasn’t worried: He was pretty sure Hinata would eat anything and everything.   
   
 “What’s good here?”   
   
 Yamaguchi jumped a bit in his seat. “Ah, well. They serve ramen here, the tonkotsu kind.”   
   
 “Bwah…” Hinata gasped. “You mean the famous ramen from the Fukuoka prefecture? Do they ship it from Fukuoka to here?”   
   
 “N-No.” Yamaguchi laughed. “It’s just. They make it here. But it’s the style… the broth is made from boiling the pork bones for several hours.”   
   
 Hinata flipped the pages of the menu. He gasped. “Look!” He pointed at a picture. “It says best tonkotsu ramen  _in Japan!”_  Hinata’s eyes narrowed dangerously before they widened. “Japan!” His eyes sparkled. “Holy crap! You know, Japan is really big… so… the  _best in the country…”_    
   
 “Uh.” Yamaguchi scratched the back of his head. “Yeah, sure. I’m going to get that. It’s what I usually get.” He glanced to the side and recognised a waiter. He gave him a small wave and waited for him to come over. “The usual for me.”   
   
 “And!” Hinata looked the waiter in the eye. “I want the best tonkotsu ramen  _in Japan.”_    
   
 The waiter paused.   
   
 “And a side of fried rice!”   
   
 Yamaguchi put a hand to his mouth, a small sharp laugh escaping nonetheless.   
   
 The waiter gave a small bow and left.   
   
 Yamaguchi turned to Hinata. “So… why are you out here?”   
   
 “Oh!” Hinata perked up. “I popped a tire on my bike! I found a really nice bike shop that’s repairing it for me, so I’m waiting until they’re done.”   
   
 “Ah, I see.” Yamaguchi nodded. “Is it going to take long?”   
   
 “A little while maybe?” Hinata shrugged. “I said I was gonna eat something and go back.”   
   
 Yamaguchi smiled. “Well, I’m glad you found a good bike shop.”   
   
 “Yeah! Me too! If I tried to walk home it would take  _hours.”_    
   
 The food eventually came. Two bowls of steaming soup with a cloudy broth that was both rich and light, topped with hearty cuts of sliced pork, chopped green onions, and a soft boiled egg each. The aroma was warm, filling them with appetite. As was the style for the restaurant, the noodles were a little undercooked – but Yamaguchi liked it that way. It made them chewier, more fun to eat.   
   
 Hinata scooped up some fried rice in his mouth in between burning mouthfuls of his ramen.   
   
 Yamaguchi ate at a normal human rate.   
   
 “So!” Hinata perked up, a noodle on the side of his face. “Why have you been so down lately?”   
   
 Yamaguchi paused, chopsticks holding a slice of pork only a millimetre from his lips. He put the slice of pork back in the bowl. “Down?” He looked at Hinata. “I haven’t been down lately, I just…”   
   
 Hinata only stared back at him.   
   
 Yamaguchi stiffened. His eyes drifted away. “Hinata… do you ever feel… like, not.” His grip on his chopsticks tightened. “Good?”   
   
 Hinata slorped about half the noodles in his ramen in his mouth, swallowing with ease.   
   
 Yamaguchi blinked.   
   
 Hinata tilted his head. “Not good?”   
   
 “Ah, never mind—forget I said anything! I just meant—”   
   
 “Not good,” Hinata repeated. “What do you mean by not good?”   
   
 “Um.” Yamaguchi’s jaw tensed. “I mean…” He let out a sigh, not sure exactly why he felt himself smile. “Volleyball.”   
   
 “Mm.” Hinata made a noise that Yamaguchi didn’t understand. His eyes never left Yamaguchi as he pursed his lips. In the distance, a customer was saying goodbye to the owner, and the owner called out goodbye in return. Hinata’s gaze never left Yamaguchi. “Always.”   
   
 Yamaguchi flinched.   
   
 Hinata smiled, wide and bright. “But your serves are awesome!”   
   
 Yamaguchi gave a strained smile. “I guess, yeah.”   
   
 “They totally rack up points! They’re like, bwah! Fwoom!” Hinata started punching the air in front of him. “Bam! Pwoosh!”   
   
 “But.” Yamaguchi glanced at his bowl, barely noting he still hadn’t eaten that slice of pork. “What happens after the serve…? The serve gets received, the enemy tosses, spikes… and it’s back on our side. Then I’m in the back row… my receives aren’t that great… My, uh.” He looked up. “My blocks are pretty good, but…”   
   
 “Ah!” Hinata nodded. “We play the same position, right? But you never get rotated to the front…”   
   
 “Yeah.” Yamaguchi poked at the slice of pork with his chopsticks. “I want… to serve, every rotation. My blocks aren’t bad… but I can’t see quicks. I can’t react. It’s like my limbs are cement… and everyone else is water. And—”   
   
 Hinata choked on his noodles.   
   
 Yamaguchi jumped up. “A-Ah!”   
   
 “I’m fine!” Hinata grinned. “I just got too excited! Not enough rice!”   
   
 “Right.” Yamaguchi’s eyes softened as he watched Hinata eat. He suddenly laughed, and he didn’t entirely understand why. Hinata looked up at him, curious hazel eyes, but for some reason that made Yamaguchi laugh louder.   
   
   
   
 * * *   
   
   
   
 Yamaguchi paid for dinner. Or lunch? He wasn’t entirely sure what meal this was, but it was nice. Hinata got down on his knees, calling Yamaguchi a god, and Yamaguchi freaked out until Hinata stopped. They decided to walk to the bike shop together. The sun had gone down, and the night sky was brilliant navy blue.   
   
 “Hm.” Hinata pushed his bike as he walked next to Yamaguchi. “Do you remember, um. When, like… I used to only spike with my eyes closed?”   
   
 Yamaguchi made a noise, glancing over.   
   
 Hinata was staring at the night sky, filled with little lights. Stardust. “I think… y’know… sometimes there’s a lot of things in our way, but – like – um…” His lips tugged into a smile. “I think we gotta find new ways around it. We all want to get better, right?” Hinata glanced to Yamaguchi. “You want to too, right?”   
   
 Yamaguchi tugged his backpack straps as he looked down. “Yeah.”   
   
 “Then!” Hinata grinned. “You’ll get better!”   
   
 Yamaguchi smiled, but…   
   
 Hinata climbed on his bike. “I’ll see you later!”   
   
 “Ah.” Yamaguchi blinked. “Bye!”   
   
 Hinata blasted off.   
   
 Yamaguchi smiled, but…   
   
   
   
 * * *   
   
   
   
 Yamaguchi got home that night, saying his hellos to his family, letting them know he had already eaten dinner. He moved to his room, taking a seat on the chair at his desk, pulling out his books. His family always left him alone when he had the books out.   
   
 It wasn’t that he wanted to be alone.   
   
 He just wanted to think.   
   
 The pot that once boiled over now only held still water.   
   
  _“We all want to get better, right?”_  Hinata’s voice echoed,  _“You want to too, right?”_    
   
 Yamaguchi looked up. “But how?”   
   
   
   
 * * *   
   
   
   
 Yamaguchi got changed in the change room, ignoring the usual bickering that was going on. Hinata had said something dumb, Tsukishima had making fun of him, Hinata now furiously yelling more things, Tanaka was laughing in the background, and Yamaguchi had passing thoughts of little snide comments he could add to Tsukishima’s tirade. They made him snicker, but he wasn’t really in the mood for talking.   
   
 He left the room and headed to the gym. He noticed the third years doing stretches with each other, but he decided to stretch by himself. He noticed Shimizu and Yachi both glancing his way, and he forced big smiles at them to reassure them.   
   
 It probably worked.   
   
 They started with spiking practice. They would be doing blocking practice after. For now, Yamaguchi spiked with all his might, getting in clean shots. The ball was going where he wanted it to… kind of. Some mess-ups. Both Sugawara and Kageyama complimented him. Well, Sugawara did. Kageyama just gave a little nod.   
   
 Yamaguchi looked at his hand and clenched his fist. He was in top form.   
   
 Ukai was walking over to him.   
   
 Yamaguchi smiled at himself. Maybe getting better was that easy, maybe if he just—   
   
 “Yamaguchi,” Ukai called over. “Noya wants to practice his overhand receives. Why don’t you serve for him?”   
   
 Yamaguchi glanced over, eyes widening. He could hear—behind him—the setters switching places and getting ready for more spikes. His feet felt like stone, but he dipped his head in a little nod. “Sure!” He forced another starlight, fleeting smile and rushed over to the other court.   
   
   
   
 * * *   
   
   
   
 Yamaguchi was changing after practice. He watched the team go, one by one. Tsukishima was the first to leave, then Kageyama, then the third years, Hinata, Tanaka, and so on. Yamaguchi was the last to leave, intentionally, and he stepped out of the club room. He paused.   
   
 On the stairway going down, Hinata was sitting on the steps, looking up at the night sky.   
   
 Yamaguchi let a breeze pass him by.   
   
 Hinata seemed lost in time, watching the little lights in the sky.   
   
 Yamaguchi walked over, trying to hide a smile. Wordlessly, he sat next to Hinata. He felt their arms brush together. Due to summer’s heat, neither of them were wearing their jackets. Skin brushed against skin, and it felt warm. He swallowed hard. “Hina—”   
   
 “Yama—”   
   
 Yamaguchi blinked.   
   
 Hinata did the same.   
   
 Yamaguchi chuckled. “You first.”   
   
 “Ah.” Hinata grinned. “You took forever!”   
   
 “A-Ah.” Yamaguchi felt his cheeks warm. “Sorry… I didn’t think you’d be sitting out here… S-So. Why were you…?”   
   
 “Why didn’t you tell Coach?”   
   
 “Huh?”   
   
 “Why didn’t you tell Coach?” Hinata’s face was expressionless. “Why didn’t you tell him you wanted to practice spiking? And blocking? And receives?”   
   
 Yamaguchi hugged his knees, tensing, pulling away so their arms weren’t touching.   
   
 Hinata’s hand grasped Yamaguchi’s arm, gentle but firm. “You wanted to keep spiking, right?”   
   
 Yamaguchi bit the inside of his lip, looking away.   
   
 “Did you…?” Hinata broke into a smile. “I mean… I have no idea, maybe you didn’t. I won’t know if you don’t tell me, Yamaguchi.”   
   
 Yamaguchi’s cheeks burned and he glanced to where Hinata’s hand was on his arm. “I can’t be like you…”   
   
 “Hah?”   
   
 “I… I can’t just, say what I want… get what I want… I’m not that kind of person. I’ve never been good at volleyball… I’ve never…”   
   
 “Huh?” Hinata’s face scrunched up like a used napkin. “What’re you saying?”   
   
 Yamaguchi almost wanted to laugh.   
   
 “Did you forget that I’m bad?”   
   
 “You? Bad?”   
   
 “Yeah!” Hinata grinned. “I can only barely receive now, but I couldn’t really block, I didn’t know any of the positions—wow, I was really bad at the start, huh?”   
   
 “But you got better.”   
   
 “And so did you!” Hinata’s other hand grabbed his other arm. “Is it true? That you went to Shimada-san on your own to teach you how to do the jump float? That you practiced in secret?”   
   
 “A-Ah. Well.” Yamaguchi’s cheeks ignited. “I mean—it wasn’t a secret, but… Y-Yeah, I guess?”   
   
 “So why are you putting yourself down?”   
   
 Yamaguchi looked at Hinata.   
   
 Hinata stared on, endlessly awaiting an answer.   
   
 Yamaguchi opened his mouth, but no words came.   
   
 “Yamaguchi.” Hinata’s eyes were as intense as burning suns. “Can I kiss you?”   
   
 “Wh-What!?”   
   
 “A-Ah! That wasn’t the mood!?”   
   
 “N-No!”   
   
 “Sorry! Sorry!”   
   
 “A-Ah!?” Yamaguchi’s cheeks invented a new shade of red. “Wh-Where did that come from!?”   
   
 Hinata let go of his hands. He got up and hopped down a few steps before he spun to look back. “I thought you wanted to kiss me, that’s all!”   
   
 Yamaguchi stood up. “Wh-What?”   
   
 “Yamaguchi!” Hinata turned to face him fully. “Your freckles are like little stars! And I think you’re amazing. I think you’re motivated, and a lot sharper than people think you are! I think you’re… sharper than you think you are.” He grinned again. “I think you don’t give yourself enough credit… so. You should!”   
   
 “Hinata…”   
   
 “You started looking at me differently, y’know?”   
   
 Yamaguchi blinked.   
   
 “When we first started…” Hinata looked up at him, smile growing small. “You used to look at me like I was like you, just another first year… Not like Kageyama, y’know? Not gifted. Not a genius. Not like Tsukki, who’s amazing if he tries… But lately you’ve started looking at me like you think you’ll never catch up.”   
   
 “Ah…”   
   
 “I get it, though…” Hinata still smiled, even if it was miniscule. “I don’t want to be the decoy—I want to be the ace. You don’t want to just be a pinch server—you want to be a middle blocker!” Hinata shook his head. “We both got a long way to go, but don’t put yourself down anymore!”   
   
 Another breeze passed by.   
   
 “Bye!”   
   
 “Wait—”   
   
 But somehow, Hinata was already across the yard, biking and on his way home.   
   
 Yamaguchi felt something warm; and, once more, he couldn’t help but let out a little laugh. Except…   
   
 Except.   
   
 Ah.   
   
 The pot began to ripple.   
   
   
   
 * * *   
   
   
   
 Yamaguchi could hear their whispers the next day. Yachi was (not so quietly) talking to Shimizu about him, Daichi and Asahi watched him fondly, even Ennoshita seemed to notice. Yamaguchi had a skip in his step. He did his stretches faster than anyone else, and offered to help Tsukki with his. Tsukki muttered thanks, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, but not saying anything.   
   
 Yamaguchi just beamed.   
   
 Hinata glanced at him from the other side of the gym.   
   
 Yamaguchi ignored the light warmth on his cheeks as he gave Hinata a smile.   
   
 Hinata smiled back, giving a pumped up nod.   
   
 Spiking practice began again.   
   
 “Yamaguchi!” Noya barreled in. “Wanna practice serves?”   
   
 “Ah.” Yamaguchi grinned. “Nah, I’m gonna practice spikes today. And blocks, later on!”   
   
 Nishinoya gave a thumbs up, and barreled out.   
   
 Ukai blinked. “You wanna keep spiking, Yamaguchi?”   
   
 “Y-Yes.”   
   
 Hinata – in the other line of spikers – glanced at him.   
   
 “Alright.” Sugawara nodded. “Let’s keep practicing our quicks, then. Coach?”   
   
 Yamaguchi took a breath. Ukai tossed the ball up, Sugawara set—and Yamaguchi spiked. The smack of his palm against leather felt good, and the ball followed his trajectory. “A-Ah.” Yamaguchi clasped his hand. “Coach?”   
   
 Ukai had a small smile. “Yeah?”   
   
 Hinata glanced over again.   
   
 “One.” Yamaguchi took a deep breath. “One more!”   
   
 Hinata grinned.   
   
 Yamaguchi felt warmth bubble up inside of him, threatening to overflow. He welcomed it. He stood his ground. He clasped his hand, letting that warmth flood him. A warmth lost, a love lost, returned. Reclaimed.  _This._  A pot, boiling over.  _This is why I want to play volleyball._  

**Author's Note:**

> This was my piece for the [Middle Blocker Zine](https://middleblockerzine.tumblr.com/), and I really wanted to explore Yamaguchi as a pinch server and a middle blocker. I don't usually do this in canon-verse, so this was a lot of fun! It was amazing working with so many other fandom creators, and they have made some mad good shit. Physical copies for the zine are gone, but I think you can still get the pdf! Thanks for reading, <3


End file.
